Casket cover



ec. 4, 1962 E. R. MEEKS 3,066,307

CASKET COVER Filed Feb. 16, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet l PEG 4' INVENTOR. EVERETT R. MEEKS ATTORNEY CASKET COVER Filed Feb. 16, 1959 74 "Q, I, a 74 "El o 7 I J/7A 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. EVERETT R. MEEKS FIG. IO 77 4M ATTORNEY face 3,%h,379 i atented Dec. 4, 1952 3,066,379 CASKET COVER Everett R. Meeks, 1137 Belmont Ave, South Bend, ind. Filed Feb. 16, 1959, Ser. No. 793,528 2 Claims. (Cl. 27-19) The present invention relates to protective covers, and more particularly to a sealed, air evacuated protec tive cover for caskets, coffins and the like.

In conventional means of interment, the casket is either unprotected from ground water and moisture or is only ineifectively protected by poorly sealed metal, concrete or stone vaults and consequently is readily attacked and decomposed by the Water and moisture within a relatively short period of time after interment. A constant effort has been made in recent years to perfect watertight, moisture proof vaults which would give effective long-lasting protection to the casket and body and which would be of such construction and design that it could be placed in the grave and then sealed with a minimum amount of labor and equipment being required at the time of interment. This, however, has resulted in heavy, complicated and expensive portable vaults which are hauled-to the graveside by trucks and lowered into the grave with cumbersome equipment, often requiring the assistance of several men. Since these conventional vaults must be sealed after being lowered into the grave if a water-tight enclosure is to be obtained, considerable difficulty and inconvenience are often encountered at that time by the workmen at the grave in effecting the seal. The present invention has as one of its principal objects to provide a simple effective means for completely protecting the casket and coffins from ground water and moisture, which eliminates the need for sealed watertight, moisture-proof vaults and which can be readily assembled on the casket before it is lowered into the grave.

Another object of the invention is to provide a watertight, decay-proof enclosure for a casket which can be assembled onto the casket while it is either in the mortuary or at the graveside and effectively and conveniently sealed and inspected before the casket is lowered into the grave.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a light weight, easily handled enclosure for a casket, which can be easily shipped and stored as a compact package and which can be assembled onto the closed casket and sealed at any convenient place as a one man operation.

A further object is to provide a protective cover for a casket or the like which permits partial, permanent air evacuation of a casket for more effective protection of the remains therein and which can be used with the conventional caskets and vaults without any alterations in either.

Another object of the invention is to provide a completely sealed enclosure for a body whether in a casket, cofiin or the like, which gives permanent protection to the body under all normal burial conditions.

Vaults are placed in the grave around caskets and coffins not only to protect the casket and coffin from disintegration, and water and moisture damage, but also to support the earth above the casket and coffin to prevent sinking of the grave and the appearance of a depression in the ground at the surface of the grave. Caskets and coffins are not normally constructed with sufficient durability to perform this function. It is therefore one of the objects of the invention to provide a permanent protective cover for the casket and coffin which permits the latter to form their own support for the earth thereabove over an indefinite period of time.

Additional objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a casket on which my cover has been assembled, sealed and evacuated, ready for lowering into the grave;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of my cover before a casket, coflin or the like has been inserted therein;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the cover shown in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an end view of the cover shown in the preceding FIGURES;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view of a casket and my cover, illustrating the manner in which the cover may be assembled onto the casket;

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of the cover assembled on a casket and sealed;

FIGURE 7 is an end view of the sealed cover and the casket shown in FIGURE 6 showing a vacuum pump connected to the cover for removing the; air therefrom;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of a casket and modified form of my cover shown assembled on the casket and sealed;

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged cross sectional view of a portion of the conduit used in evacuating the sealed cover, including a valve used therein; and

FIGURE 10 is a plan view of a device used in sealing the cover, illustrating the manner in which the device is used in the sealing operation.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, numeral 12 designates a casket of the conventional type having a cover 14 and handles 16 and 18, and numeral 20 designates my cover assembled on the casket, sealed and evacuated ready to be lowered into a grave. The present cover is adapted to any type of casket or cofiin and one size will adapt itself to a substantial range in casket and coflin sizes. For the purpose of the present description, casket will be used to refer to any structure including coffins on which the present cover is capable of being used, unless otherwise indicated.

The embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGURES 1 through 7 consists of side and end panels 22, 24 and 26, 28, respectively, bottom panel 30, and top panels 32 and 34, said top panels folding over the casket to form a closure for the structure formed by the aforementioned panels. The side, end and bottom panels are joined integrally at adjacent edges and the top panels are joined along one edge to the adjacent side panel, the joints between the panels either being continuous or joined together in a fluid-tight relation. The free edges of top panels 32 and 34 and the upper edge of end panels 26 and 28 are preferably provided with flaps 36, 38, 40 and 42 to facilitate sealing the panels together when the cover is closed after the casket has been inserted therein. All the panels are constructed of flexible material impervious to air and water and resistant to decay and corrosion, the material preferably being plastic such as vinyl or polyethylene of a thickness sufficient to permit normal handling without tearing or puncturing. When the foregoing structure has been placed around a casket, top panels 32 and 34 are folded over the casket and sealed together throughout the length of flaps 36 and 38, and the ends of the top panels are sealed to end flaps 40 and 42. When thi sealing operation has been completed, the structure is completely air and water-tight and moisture-proof. In this condition the cover fits rather loosely around and over the casket, interfering both with the appearance and handling of the casket.

After the present cover has been assembled on the casket and sealed in the manner just described, it is evac' uated, using a suitable vacuum pump or the like, such as the one shown diagrammatically at numeral 48 in FIG- URE 7. The Vacuum pump is connected. to the interior of the cover by a tube 50 joined at one end to the pump and at the other end to a connecting fixture 52, the fixture consisting of a tubular portion 54 and an integral flange 56 joined in fluid-tight relationship to the outside surface of end panel 28 around a hole 58. The tubular portion 54 connects tube 50 with hole 58 for direct communication with the interior of cover 20. A check valve 60 is provided in fixture 52 to prevent the return of air to the interior of the cover after the evacuating operation has been completed, the valve consisting of a ball 62 preferably of plastic or rubber, seating over the outer end of hole 53 and a spring 63 reacting between the ball and the end of a tube 64 forming a part of portion 54. Tube 64 is sealed into the larger tubular member 54 after the ball and spring have been inserted in place in the tubular portion. After the cover has been evacuated, tube 50 is disconnected from fixture 52.

In order to facilitate handling and carrying of the casket after the present cover has been placed over the casket, sealed and evacuated, as for example in the mortuary, straps 68, 70 and 72 with handles 74 are preferably included as a permanent part of the structure. The straps consist of fabric, heavy plastic, or leather, and are placed across the bottom panel 30 and secured thereto with cement or any other suitable joining means. Since these straps are flexible, they will fold under or alongside the cover when the casket and cover are lowered into the grave, and hence do not interfere with the use of a vault.

The manner in which the form of cover disclosed in FIGURES 1 through 7 is assembled on the casket is illustrated in FIGURE 5. The bottom panel 30* is spread out flat and the side and end panels are folded downwardly into a folded ridge at the bottom. The casket is then placed on the bottom panel and the sides and ends are pulled upwardly around the casket and the top panels are folded over the casket and sealed along flaps 36, 38, 40 and 42. The material used in the construction of the present cover is preferably of the heat scalable type using a hot tool such as the one illustrated in FIGURE 10, consisting of two opposed rollers Stl and 82 supported by a frame 84 and urged together by a spring 86, roller 80 being heated by an electrical heating element 88 disposed therein and connected to a source of current by a cord 90.

The present cover is intended primarily for use in sealing and protecting caskets; another important use for my cover is a sealed, evacuated container for holding and transporting human bodies prior to burial and also interment without a casket or coflin. This use is particularly advantageous in disaster areas where delay may occur in identifying the victims and where the bodies must be transported considerable distances before they are embalmed and prepared for burial. The body sealed in my cover may be buried in a temporary grave and marked at the suface by a tag or name plate attached by a plastic cord to the cover so that the body can be readily identified when it is disinterred.

Various modified forms of my cover are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, instead of having the opening at the top, it may be placed along one side or at the hottom or end as illustrated in FIGURE 8. Further, for convenience of fabrication, the cover may be shaped from a single sheet of material with parts thereof being folded to form the sheet into the desired shape. While the present cover has been described herein as having side, end, bottom and top panels, these panels are not necessarily distinct sections but may be curved or otherwise shaped so that the final over-all appearance of the assembled cover, particularly when assembled on a human or animal body without a casket or colfin, may be tubular or irregular in shape.

I claim:

1. A collapsible cover for a casket, comprising side, end and bottom panels joined together at adjacent edges to form a rectangularly shaped enclosure of a size larger than the casket and with an opening extending the full length and width thereof, two top panels joined to the upper edges of said side panels, flanges on the free side of said top panels adapted to be joined to one another and to the end panels, a flange on the free edge of said end panels adapted to be joined to the adjacent edge of said top panels, said panels and flanges being formed of flexible impervious plastic sheet material, a stem in one end near the top thereof communicating with the interior of said enclosure, a valve in said stem for permitting the withdrawal of air from said enclosure and preventing the flow of air thereinto, and a plurality of spaced straps on said bottom panel extending beyond said side panels and having handles at each end.

2. A collapsible cover for a casket, comprising side, end and bottom panels joined together at adjacent edges to form a rectangularly shaped enclosure of a size larger than the casket and with an opening extending the full length and width thereof, two top panels joined to the upper edges of said side panels and adapted to be joined to one another and to the end panels, said panels being formed of flexible impervious plastic sheet material, a stem in one end communicating with the interior of said enclosure, a valve in said stem for permitting the withdrawal of air from said enclosure and preventing the flow of air thereinto, and a plurality of spaced straps on said bottom panel extending beyond said side panels and having handles at each end.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 183,974 Robinson Oct. 31, 1876 776,500 De Long Dec. 6, 1904 813,942 Blake Feb. 27, 1906 1,026,044 Little et al. May 14, 1912 2,076,677 Smith Apr. 13, 1937 2,489,828 Springer Nov. 29, 1949 2,655,714 Rench Oct. 20, 1953 2,754,865 Moore July 17, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 746,691 France Mar. 14, 1933 531,708 Great Britain I an. 9, 1941 756,492 Great Britain Sept. 5, 1956 am a, 

